Cut on nipple...keep Breastfeeding?

S.,

I also had an injury to my nipple while I was breastfeeding and got blood in my milk. I kept nursing (my daughter wouldn't drink from any kind of bottle or cup at the time) and it only bled freely for a day or two - the neosporin helped it heal. I don't think there's any medical reason why you have to stop nursing (unless you have a disease transmitted through blood such as AIDS, hepatitis C, malaria, etc.?). You didn't say how old your son is, but if he's under 1 year old I would definitely make every effort to continue nursing to help him continue to build his immunities. If he will take a bottle or cup, you could try expressing milk with a breastpump (you may be able to rent a high quality electric pump from your lactation counselor if you don't have one) to keep your milk flow up and then dump the contents until the bleeding stops...or even feed him expressed breastmilk from now on and see if your callous clears up. Good luck!

S.

Have you tried going to a dermatologist. I had a wired bump on my brest while I was pregnant and had it removed. The dermatologist will know if there is any possiblity of skin cancer etc. Also she will help remove the bump if necessary so it will heal properly. Then if the dermatologist can send the tissue for a biopsy just as a precaution. It really helps ease your worries to get this kind of thing looked at by a professional. I am only suggesting this step because you said that it hasn't healed for months. I nursed twin boys.

It depends on how long you have been nursing and can you nurse from the other breast for a while.

Nurse on my friend!
If he is getting any blood at all, it is such a tiny amount- it is not going to hurt him. The worst it can do is interupt his feeds because of the taste, although it sounds like this is not an issue. Watch out for the neosporin though. That too can interupt feeds. Rub in the "leftover" milk/saliva when you are finished nursing and let air dry. Avoid soap on your breasts/nipples because it can dry them out.
Good luck and happy nursing!

As long as there aren't large amounts of blood it should be fine to keep nursing. If you use a breast pump, you may notice that the milk has a pinkish tint to it. Also, if your son spits up any afterward, it may have a pinkish color too it. When I was breastfeeding my son, my nipples cracked and would bleed, and I was told by nurses and lactation consultants to continue breastfeeding as long as it's not bleeding a lot. Hope this helps ease the nerves about it. I was worried too.

Sounds like a milk-bleb (blister) to me. Don't worry about your son drinking blood - it won't be enough to make him ill. Also, is he possibly getting some new teeth? Sometimes the child will change his latch as new teeth come in, which can cause these, and blisters on the nipple/aureola area. I would invest in some Lansinoh Lanolin cream. It can be found with the breastfeeding/bottle area of just about any store. Allow the nipple to dry after feeding, then put a dab on the scab area to nourish and soften the skin. Just be careful - a little goes a long way! ;)

I used the plastic nipple protector most of the time while I breast fed. I religiously applied olive oil after every feeding- and I never got cracked or blistered nipples. I highly recommend this. I carried a little tubberware of olive oil around in the diaper bag. The plastic nipple I think is meant for inverted nipples, or if it's hard to latch on. My son had no problem latching on, but it helped protect me, and about every 3rd feed I'd nurse him normal.

I agree, keep breastfeeding!!! When my nipples got a little soar from breastfeeding, I would rub a little of the breastmilk on my nipple to help, and it did. If your nipples are soar it usually means that the baby is not latcing on correctly, but don't think that is what is happening. Just keep at it and it will work itself out.

S.,
I would call the pediatrician and ask them! They can give you the best advice about this!

I have breastfed all three of my children and I think you should pump the side with the sore and nurse the god nipple until it heals. This way you won't lose milk in it but it can get better. C. S.

A little blood in the milk won't hurt the baby. My daughter had cracked nipples when she began breastfeeding and they bled enough that the milk was sort of pink. The doctor said it was fine for the baby, and she kept breastfeeding (although it hurt like the dickens) until her nipples healed and became accustomed to breastfeeding so they didn't hurt anymore. She breastfed for a full year.

Pure lanolin applied to the nipples after nursing might help them heal without forming another hard scab.

If you keep having this spot come back on your nipple, though, even though you've been breastfeeding for "months," you might check with your doctor to make sure that you're okay, and it really is just from breastfeeding. It seems like that if you've been breastfeeding for a while, your nipples should be accustomed to it and I wouldn't think it would continue to make a "callus." I'd encourage you to check it out and make sure it's not something else.

Take care....

lg

From one breastfeeding mother to another.. Absolutely! It will heal, even though it is proably extremely painful right now. Also, the benefit that your son is receiving from breast milk way outweighs anything else he could be getitng w/ it. I nursed my son (who is now 3), and had problems latching on correctly at first and went through basicly the same problems becuse it caused my nipples to bleed and scab as well.
He is wonderfully healthy now and running around here... uhhh... somewhere? (I gotta go see where he disapeared to actually!)
Good luck and God bless!

If it were me, I'd keep nursing and put lanolin or vaseline on the spot after he nursed. If he were to ingest a little blood, it wouldn't hurt him, it would just be a little weird. Can you pump that side and let him nurse exclusively from the other side? Give it time to heal? Good luck.